Peoples of the East Coast

The Betsimisaraka constitute the second largest (14.9
percent) group of Madagascar's population and clearly are
the
most numerous on the east coast. They are divided into
three
subgroups: the northern Betsimisaraka, the Betanimena, and
the
southern Betsimisaraka. Their territory extends along the
coast
in a narrow band from the Bemarivo River in the north to
the
Mananjary River in the south, a distance of some 640
kilometers.
The Betsimisaraka, whose name means "numerous and
inseparable,"
have traditionally been traders, seafarers, and fishers,
as well
as cultivators of the tropical lowland areas. They trace
their
origins to the confederacy established by Ratsimilaho,
allegedly
the son of a British pirate and a Malagasy princess, who
unified
several small coastal states in the eighteenth century.
The
confederation continued after Ratsimilaho died in 1751,
but it
was much weakened by internal conflict and external
pressure. The
Betsimisaraka territory has included the important port
city of
Toamasina, as well as Fenerive and Maroansetra at the head
of the
Baie d'Antongil.

South of the Betsimisaraka are ethnic groups who trace
their
origins to Islamic traders of mixed Arab, African, and
MalayoIndonesian origin who settled on the coasts after the
fourteenth
century, and are known as Antalaotra ("people of the
sea"). The
Antambahoaka, whose name is translated as "the people,"
make up
0.4 percent of the population and live around the
Mananjary River
just south of the Betsimisaraka territory. They claim as
their
ancestor Raminia, a king who came from Mecca around the
early
fourteenth century, and are part of a larger group known
as the
Zafi-Raminia, or "descendants of Raminia;" some of this
group
migrated from the Mananjary region to become rulers of
peoples to
the south. Some scholars have speculated that the
Zafi-Raminia
may have formed part of the ruling class of the Merina,
who came
to dominate Madagascar in the nineteenth century. Their
power and
prestige derived from their willingness to use their
knowledge of
astrology, medicine, and divination to serve the courts of
kings
throughout Madagascar.

Another people descended from the Antalaotra, the
Antaimoro
("people of the shore") constitute 3.4 percent of the
population
and also live south of the Betsimisaraka. The Antaimoro
were
apparently the last significant arrivals, appearing around
the
end of the fifteenth century, possibly from the Arabian
Peninsula
with a sojourn in Ethiopia or Somalia, just before the
coming of
the Europeans in the sixteenth century. They are the only
Malagasy people before the nineteenth century to possess a
system
of writing, based on Arabic script. Their books, the
sorabe (from the Arabic sura, meaning
"writing,"
and the Malagasy be, meaning "big" or "great"),
which were
inscribed in ink on special paper made from beaten wood
bark,
dealt with astrology, divination, medicine, and historical
chronicles. Like the Antambahoaka, the Antaimoro are noted
throughout Madagascar for their knowledge of the
supernatural and
medicine.

Among a number of other groups around Farafangana, at
the
southern end of the Canal des Pangalanes, the most
important are
the Antaifasy ("people of the sands"), who constitute 1.2
percent
of the population. To the south, the Antaisaka (5.3
percent of
the population) are found in large numbers around the
alluvial
valley of the Mananara River. The Antanosy ("people of the
island"), who live in the extreme southeastern part of the
island
around Faradofay, make up 2.3 percent of the population.

The peoples of the eastern escarpment separating the
east
coast from the central highlands are the Sihanaka ("people
of the
lake"), who represent 2.4 percent of the population; the
Bezanozano (0.8 percent), living south of the Sihanaka;
and the
Tanala (3.8 percent). The Sihanaka live around Lake
Alaotra and
practice wet-rice cultivation in a manner similar to that
of the
Merina. The Bezanozano ("many little braids," referring to
their
hair style), the Tanala ("people of the forest"), and the
inland
Betsimisaraka practice slash-and-burn agriculture in the
forests,
cultivating dry rice, corn, yams, and other crops.
Although the
Merina conquered the Sihanaka, the Bezanozano, and the
inland
Betsimisaraka in the early nineteenth century, the
southern
Tanala remained independent up to the French occupation.

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